PM Modi to visit Israel on Feb 25–26, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu announces

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Israel on a two-day visit from February 25 to 26, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced, signalling another high-level push in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Netanyahu revealed the visit while addressing the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations on Sunday.

"Parliament address on the anvil. Who's coming here next week? Narendra Modi," he told the gathering.

"Tremendous alliance between Israel and India, and we are going to discuss all sorts of cooperation. Now, you know, India is not a small country. It has 1.4 billion people. India is enormously powerful, enormously popular," he stressed.

A source here told PTI that the visit is "likely to be short from February 25 to 26", but added that "its impact is deep given the popularity Modi enjoys not only in Israel but around the world".

The programme is still being finalised, but Modi is expected to address the Israeli Knesset (parliament). During the visit, he is likely to touch upon key bilateral and regional issues.

This will be Modi’s second visit to Israel. His first, in July 2017.

The upcoming trip follows a series of high-level exchanges between the two sides over the past year.

Minister of Tourism Haim Katz, Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Avi Dichter, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited India last year as both countries stepped up efforts towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

During Smotrich’s visit, the two sides signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Later, a Terms of Reference (TOR) leading to an FTA was signed during Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Israel in November.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to Israel in December and called on Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Barkat.

In November, India and Israel also signed a landmark agreement to boost defence, industrial and technological cooperation, enabling the sharing of advanced technology to promote co-development and co-production.

The Joint Working Group (JWG) of Israel and India met in Tel Aviv in November for its annual meeting. It was led by Israel Ministry of Defence (IMOD) Director General Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram and Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.

 

(Inputs from PTI)